White Guy on the Bus

Delaware Theatre Company presents the New York premiere of this drama, a provocative and unflinching look at race and inequality in contemporary America. Starring Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli. More…

A wealthy white businessman and a struggling black single mom ride the same bus week after week. As they get to know each other, their relationship sparks a candid and surprising examination of racial and economic divides.

"Written by Bruce Graham, directed by Bud Martin and featuring an outstanding cast, this is a brilliant, poignant production. The show will encourage viewers to have essential conversations about the disparity that exists between people of different races and economic backgrounds...'White Guy on the Bus' is drama at its finest. It is a thought-provoking theatrical piece that presents multiple perspectives. It is a must-see production for metro area audiences."
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“Bruce Graham’s 'White Guy on the Bus' speaks a lot of truths, but I don’t necessarily know if audiences are ready to admit or face these hideous facts…The cast all excel in their roles. Director Bud Martin keeps this play moving like a fine-tuned roller coaster. Mr. Graham has written a piece that will have you thinking…This is a powerful play with much to say.”
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“The opening scene is a deliberately moralistic prelude that soon opens into a riveting, thought-provoking piece of theater…To reveal much more...would be to spoil Mr. Graham’s deftly constructed play…This is decidedly not a feel-good play about mutually beneficial bonds formed across the racial and economic divides. Mr. Graham, with the work’s stark conclusion, leaves you feeling like a simplistic ninny for ever thinking it might have been.”
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“This is a very cleverly written play drawing the audience in slowly, then binding us in an intense, unrelenting bombardment of truth about how money, power and privilege position one in society. It also speaks harshly and, many times, wisely to how political correctness will not solve the problems of poverty, oppression and prejudice…They are all brought together under the guiding hand of Bud Martin who directs this cast with vision.”
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"It packs a wallop!...The cast is headed by Cuccioli, who is giving one of the finest and most chilling performances of the season...In turn blistering and bracing, the tautly constructed play becomes dramatically radioactive...Don't be afraid to see this blistering play that may actually change your mind as it challenges your well-intentioned motives."
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"Thanks to award-winning playwright Bruce Graham, the progressively minded will not be patting themselves on the back when they see 'White Guy on the Bus.' However, they are going to squirm a little bit and, by the end, they’ll have a helluva lot to think about...'White Guy On the Bus' is a provocative piece of theater and it manages to make a loud point without preaching. Director Bud Martin has assembled a fine cast, all of whom should be commended for tackling this fearless play."
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"'White Guy on the Bus' offers a thought-provoking examination of current race relations in America. Graham’s writing is imaginative and compelling, and the plot adeptly blends a coherent structure with intrigue and surprise. Cast members convincingly interpret the complicated vicissitudes their roles demand, and the performance flows effortlessly. A triumph at most every level."
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“An explosive, provocative drama…No one is wholly righteous; neither is anyone wholly bad. Yet the deals we agree to—the concessions we allow in order to feed ourselves and our kin, and the amount of BS we swallow or ask others to swallow—make for an intense and complex dynamic that eschews a trouble-free coexistence…The well-paced dialogue is punchy, pointed, and taut, and numerous tangents are well-woven into the plot.”
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“Cuccioli and McKey have a splendid chemistry...He and Lenee have a different kind of sparks flying between them, but they find as much nuance as the script gives them…Director Bud Martin has also found the nuggets of gold in the script and has let the actors get the most out of them...The show tries to take on the whole matter of race and in doing so, it generates heat but precious little light…It is there to get the audience to consider the problems."
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"Graham finds little ways to needle his audience in this ultra-contrived setup. We understand that progressive sacred cows will be rhetorically slaughtered, although Graham's reliance on archetype and hypotheticals make this somewhat of a facile endeavor...A radical tonal shift late in the first act changes things...Scenes bleed from one to the next in Martin's clever staging...Hiding everything behind his cold, calculating eyes, Cuccioli delivers a fascinatingly dynamic portrayal."
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"Under Bud Martin’s skilled direction, the performances bring the play’s central conversations on race and privilege to life...At times, the conversations within the play itself become overshadowed by its dramatic plot, as some of its twists feel too overstated to be authentic...Those underlying conversations manage to ask tough questions of them, and though they aren’t always able to answer, it leaves both its characters and its audience with plenty of food for thought."
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“Ray's conversations with his family, at one side of the stage, and his relationship with Shatique at the other eventually converge in a disturbing shift...that throws the play off balance into a schematic ditch of unconvincing crime melodrama...Little in the physical production itself serves the play's interests well...More seriously, most of the acting plays only with surfaces; the performers have technical polish but, except for Danielle Leneé...an air of artificiality hovers.”
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“The plot is inventive and brave. Bruce Graham has come up with a story and an in-your-face relationship between Ray and Shatique that is provocative and brutally honest…The production elements of this show do not measure up to Graham’s intent. The writing is often sophomoric and illogical. The direction is stilted, confining actors to spaces where they seem trapped…The performances are uneven, with the relationship between Ray and Roz lacking a much needed credulity.”
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“‘White Guy on the Bus’ surrenders any pretense at analyzing America's racial divide, instead becoming a florid melodrama loaded with speechmaking. Graham's play is already perilously overloaded with white grievance; the addition of thriller elements seemingly lifted from an old Charles Bronson movie does nothing to advance his argument. ‘That White Guy on the Bus’ remains watchable is largely due to Robert Cuccioli's performance."
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“An interesting story line, despite the play’s frequent forays into unrelated thematic territories…Unfortunately, Mr. Graham’s characters seem more stock than well rounded and experience no growth. Their conflicts are so stereotypical that the dramatic arc of the play leaves the audience without any catharsis. And some of the action of the play is simply not believable...Graham takes on too much in his play and in doing so lessens its overall impact.”
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for a previous production
“Graham entertainingly and dramatically shows race relations in action. Director Bud Martin follows Graham’s lead with a production that unfolds naturalistically, giving each scene room to make its point...’White Guy on the Bus’ is a play that can open discussion and open eyes…Graham lays out his ideas with brilliant precision and smart dialogue. Martin builds to high points and helps various characters’ dilemmas unfold grippingly while keeping a sense of suspense in the air.”
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for a previous production
"It excites theatrically, if bending the boundaries of belief a little too far in its attempts at perfect, no-loopholes logical construction…Graham's play brutally examines contemporary racial and class tensions in America - and this production soars in Bud Martin's unflinching direction. Cuccioli, in particular, shines...Whatever beliefs you sit down with at curtain call, prepare to have them assaulted. Whatever courage you possess, muster it to see this production."
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for a previous production
“What seems like chatter actually lays a complex foundation for what's coming…Graham flips the whole play upside down in the first act's final scene…Ray and Shatique's combustible negotiation makes the short second act tremendously powerful…Would that Delaware's production served the play better. Paul Tate dePoo III's flat set sticks two clashing walls side by side…Graham's greatest achievement in this fine and important play may be knocking us from our comfort zone."
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for a previous production
'This production pulled no punches. There were no shades. It was black and white…A series of flashbacks move the show forward. The audience becomes easily assimilated and the blistering impact of the plot could not have been told otherwise…Renee’s is a gut-wrenching role. She feels it throughout every charged fiber in her body. Both she and Cuccioli give strong performances…A powerful and brave drama."
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for a previous production
"Sadly, the story unfolds during act two like an episode from ‘Law & Order.’ Ray is deftly portrayed by Robert Cuccioli…Danielle Leneé imparts an earnest, realistic personality to the character of Shatique…I recommend and encourage theater patrons to see 'White Guy on the Bus' with an open mind in the hope that diverse, uncomfortable discussions, not just about race but also about privilege, inequality, social injustice, and all that goes with today's societal ills, ensue."
Full Review

See it if
You like a well-thought out, well-acted, relevant play about race, class, wealth, privilege, life-changing decisions, etc. The 2 leads are ✔

Don't see it if
No reason you shouldn't see it, except now it's closed. So intense. Great plot twist and once again the 2 leads. Saw them embrace backstage

Also
After it was all said-and-done. It took you there. The audience was engaged and gasped when I did.... Best show I've seen at 59e59 theatres and I generally like their shows.... It really is a water-cooler conversation starter in my opinion... It really could've been a 3-person play, as opposed to 5, but, none-the-less ✔️✔️✔️‼️... Read moreRead less

See it if
You want to see a play examining racism in honest terms and very relevant to the constant division in America today. It is also good drama.

Don't see it if
You're uncomfortable with topic of racism or tired of hearing about it or prefer to be politically correct at all times. This is heavy stuff

Also
Playwright Graham wrote a superb courageous honest play about racism, violence, poverty, privilege, security, grief, anger, & revenge in the truest terms of human feelings without whiny apologies or pandering to current trend of oppressive political correctness where denial of reality is really not conducive to problem solving or reaching peaceful accords--merely a bandaid over an infectious wound!

The play is not cliched because the circumstances presented ( except for the surprise plot) reflects true happenings of dysfunctional education, violence/disrespect vs.teachers, one sided excuses of racism/hostility vs. wealthier people, minority bullying of more peaceful minorities, reversed prejudice on the job & media to overcompensate for historical past wrongs to the point of unfair tendacious judgements of perceived prejudice & people fearful of saying anything politically incorrect! Denial of reality only leads to repressed anger and paranoid need for safety thus chaotic explosion!... Read moreRead less

Also
The play is a little contrived but that doesn't interfere with it totally holding your interest,There are many good points made about racism and the injustices of modern society.You will become involved in the plight of the main characters and find yourself wondering what you hope the main characters will do. You also wonder how you would react in a similar situation.... Read moreRead less

Also
I have seen a few BG plays and this is by far his best work. I can't say this about many plays but he does not hold back one bit in his writing. This gives you a lot to think about which is what I want when I see a show. The set is perfect and the acting is great.... Read moreRead less

See it if
You're up for a challenging, at times uncomfortable experience. Cuccioli is effortless, disturbingly natural & ultimately disturbing. Go.

Don't see it if
You're an O'Reilly Republican; or at least one with a closed mind. Or have no patience.

Also
The arc of Robert Cuccioli's effortless, disturbingly natural and ultimately disturbing White Guy is an intense, subtle & loaded performance. We know this guy; in some cases he’s actually one of us, and Cuccioli makes it look so easy, so normal. It's a complicated, nuanced & stunning performance, and onstage for much of the play, he's its emotional and narrative anchor.

Danielle Leneé is fine as the struggling single mother whose life is complicated and upturned by Cuccioli’s sly, if logical & to his mind reasonable, Ray. Her Shatique is grounded, sensible and completely believable.... Read moreRead less